Words of Welcome

Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19 I had planned on preaching from 1 Peter during this Easter season, but I’ve been drawn to the Psalms during this pandemic. I would have enjoyed exploring some of the intricacies of 1 Peter, but the Psalms speak to where we are right now. They invite us to pray and even cry out in lament. They offer us opportunities to grieve and even complain. They also invite us to share words of thanksgiving even in difficult times. Psalm 116 is a song of thanksgiving that begins with a declaration of faith: “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.” This song of thanksgiving doesn’t come during a time of abundance. No, the Psalmist makes this declaration of faith even as the “snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.” It’s at this point that the Psalmist called on the Lord and prayed, asking God to “save my life.” As we continue this season of uncertainty, when the snares o...

Genesis 1:1-2:4 In the beginning, when God started creating things, the earth was nothing more than a dark formless void. While a wind from God blew across the waters, God began to speak. With each word, the earth began to emerge in all its complexity. God first called for the lights to turn on. From there, things proceeded step by step until the earth was ready to receive fish, birds, and the animals, including cattle.  God said to this menagerie: “be fruitful and multiply.” When everything was in place, God said, let’s create humankind in our image. So God did just that and entrusted this good earth to humankind’s stewardship. Then God rested. Now, Genesis doesn’t provide us with a scientific statement as to how things came into existence. What it gives us is a liturgy that celebrates the beauty of creation and invites us to worship the creator.  Therefore, “Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise!” Although this litany suggests th...

Hallelujah - Mike Moyers Philippians 2:5-11 Holy Week begins today. Normally the choir and the children would process into the sanctuary waving palms as we sang “King of Kings, Lord of Lords” This year Holy Week looks very different. We didn’t have a palm procession, though we did sing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.” As Holy Week begins, we won’t be gathering in person to observe Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, or Easter. There will be a variety of online opportunities, but Holy Week will be different this year as we gather as the virtual body of Christ. The reading from Philippians 2 doesn’t speak of the Triumphal Entry that marks Palm Sunday, but it does take us on the way of obedience that moves from glory to glory. However, this path of obedience involves Jesus emptying himself of his divine stature so that he might become a human being and experience death on a cross. Thankfully the hymn doesn’t end with Jesus hanging on the cross. It goes on to celebrate God’s vindi...

Psalm 130 Do you feel like crying out to God in this moment of uncertainty?  Do you feel like you are living in the depths of life? Spring may be breaking through the winter blues, but it’s difficult to enjoy the coming of spring when we’re supposed to stay home and stay safe. This morning we turn to Psalm 130 , which begins with a word of lament and ends with a word of hope. The Psalmist begins:  “Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord.” Then along with the Psalmist, we plead with God, “Lord, hear my voice!” It’s at times like this that I appreciate the Psalms, which give voice to our laments. They remind us that it’s okay to grieve our losses, even if they’re momentary. As William Blaine-Wallace writes, “grief is prayerful attention, an awareness, acknowledgment, and embrace of life-the-way-it-really-is” [Blaine-Wallace, When Tears Sing , xxiv.]. This is the way life is right now. We’re watching as the Coronavirus marches across the globe. We watch as ...

Psalm 23 On any normal Sunday, we would open the doors of the church and welcome the world into our midst. We would sing and pray. We would gather at the Table and share together the bread of life and the cup of salvation. That would be a normal Sunday, but these aren’t normal times. We are in the midst of a pandemic, so we’re finding other ways of communicating until we can regather in person.  It’s times like this, when we’re feeling alone, anxious, and fearful that we often turn to the Twenty-third Psalm for comfort and encouragement. I read Psalm 23 from the King James Version this morning because it seems to fit this moment. The rhythm and the wording speak to our hearts, reminding us that the “Lord is our shepherd.” Therefore, we “shall not want.” Like a good shepherd, God leads us to green pastures and still waters. God provides us with such abundance that we can live in hope even in the most difficult of moments.  The Hundredth Psalm reinforces...

Romans 5:1-11 You may have seen those “Keep Calm” posters. You may even have one in your house. You know the ones that say “Keep Calm and Carry On!” Or, it might be one of many variations on that theme. But, what do you do when life is anything but calm? We are experiencing just such a moment. We face a Coronavirus or more specifically a COVID-19 pandemic that has unknown consequences for us. We don’t know its full extent because there aren’t yet enough tests to go around and a vaccine for the virus is probably months away. Even if the virus appears to go away when summer arrives, it might come back next winter. Hopefully, there’ll be a vaccine by then, but we don’t know for sure. So, in the meantime we wait, trying to find a way forward.  This uncertainty about our situation is wreaking havoc on our society. The stock market crashed into bear territory, leaving many ordinary people wondering about their financial well-being. Universities are moving classes o...

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 We started our Lenten journey with a word from Paul about sin. Is it a nature problem or nurture problem? St. Augustine voted for nature, while John Locke advocated for nurture. As for me, I tend to go with Locke, but whichever way we go, sin is a problem.  The way toward the healing of sin’s impact begins with the confession of sin. This week we take a step back the chapter 4 in Paul’s letter to Romans, where the faith of Abraham enters the conversation. According to Genesis and Paul, Abraham believed God’s promise that the nations would be blessed through his descendants, and God credited this as righteousness. Therefore, Abraham was justified before God by faith and not by works. In Paul’s mind, the same is true for everyone who shares in the faith of Abraham. When we read Scripture, it’s good to remember that we live in a very different context than the biblical authors, including Paul. That means Paul may have a different set of concerns...